The Glencoe Andersons
by ravenhaired88
Summary: A companion piece to "The Unexpected Visitor." One-shots and brief story arcs from Auggie's childhood, and perhaps a bit beyond (we'll see). Won't necessarily be written in chronological order. Suggestions for scenes you want to see are welcome, but don't be upset (please) if I don't take them.
1. Chapter 1: The Eye Doctor

**disclaimer: USA Network owns Covert Affairs and it's characters, etc. Not me.**

**The Glencoe Andersons**

**One-shots and brief story arcs from Auggie's childhood, and perhaps a bit beyond (we'll see). Won't necessarily be written in chronological order. A companion piece to "The Unexpected Visitor." Suggestions for scenes you want to see are welcome, but don't be upset (please) if I don't take them.**

**The Eye Doctor**

**xxXxx (December, 1985) xxXxx**

"So what seems to be the problem today?" Dr. Brown asked kindly.

"Well, Aidan's teachers have been saying that he's squinting a lot at the board, and once they mentioned it - August, leave that alone - Once they mentioned it, I realized that he does like to sit fairly close to the TV when it's on," Rita answered, settling Aidan on her lap while Auggie stood to the side, looking curiously around the small eye doctor's office.

"Ok, anybody in the family wear glasses, history of eye disease, anything like that?"

"No, that's what's so strange to me. Nobody so much as wears glasses, on either side of the family, except for I think one of my great uncles."

Dr. Brown nodded, making a note on the clipboard he held in his lap. "Anything else that might be relevant?"

"Well," Rita hesitated and blushed slightly, "It has been mentioned to me that it may be some sort of… that he may be looking for extra attention, their father died just about a year ago. But I thought it would be better to have it checked out, just in case."

The doctor nodded and smiled sympathetically. "Well, let's have a look then." He turned to the boys. "Which one of you is Aidan?" Both boys turned to look back at him with identically wide-eyed looks, and the one hanging half off of his mother's lap slightly raised his hand.

"My, but you two look quite a lot alike. You must be identical!" He exclaimed in a kind, kid-friendly voice.

Aidan frowned, and August piped up, "We're not. We're fa- fer- ferternal. But people mix us up a lot."

"Ah, I see," the doctor said, and gave them a knowing wink. "All right, Aidan, why don't you hop up on the chair there."

About an hour later, Aidan was allowed to scoot off the examination chair for the last time. He joined his brother in a corner of the room, playing with a plastic, anatomical model of an eye. While they quietly occupied themselves, Dr. Brown addressed Rita.

"Well, it does look as though he is having some genuine, but mild, trouble with his vision. It is not presenting perfectly typically, but I believe he will benefit from wearing corrective lenses. As I said, his prescription seems fairly mild, but we will need to watch his progression. Usually, with children, we perform an eye exam about once a year, and that moves to once every other year when they get older. Children's eyes frequently worsen over time, but with the lack of family history his prescription may remain very mild."

Rita nodded. "Ok. How do we go about this? I've never had glasses myself, I'm not sure how it works."

Dr. Brown smiled at her. "Not to worry. You just bring this prescription to the optometrist down the hall. She'll help you pick out a pair of frames, and they'll be ready in a few days."

xxXxx

"Mommy?"

"Yes, August?" Rita asked somewhat impatiently, glancing down at the six-year-old boy tugging at her pant leg while she tried to ready herself for the first day of her class. She was glad to be finally working on finishing her nursing degree, but between her mother's obvious disapproval (really, it was practically the 21st century, there was nothing wrong with a woman working when she already had children) and the craziness of trying to get five boys to calm down enough that she could safely leave them with said mother, she was feeling a bit frazzled.

"Mommy, I have to tell you something."

"What is it, August? Mommy is in a hurry." She took a better look at her youngest boy, and noticed his face was uncharacteristically serious. She paused and knelt down in front of him.

"Aidan told me not to tell, but…" He glanced over his shoulder, and Rita looked up and noticed for the first time that her oldest boy, the twelve-year-old Aaron, was standing in the doorway. He encouraged August with a nod.

"But what, August?" Rita gently asked.

"Well, Aidan said he's not supposed to squint anymore, he said it was bad, but we were practicing math, and he was squinting and he still couldn't see it, I don't think. He got it wrong but then he knew it once I said the numbers out loud. And he didn't want me to tell you, but you said you wanted to know. Is A in trouble?" All of this tumbled out of Auggie's mouth in a rush, although Rita was amused to notice how carefully he pronounced the word 'squint.'

"Thank you for telling me that, August. No, Aidan is not in trouble. But I need to know these things so that we can help him. You remember a few months ago, before Christmas, when we went to the eye doctor, and Aidan got his glasses? It will just be like that again. Maybe not fun, but he'll see better afterwards." She stood back up, then added, "We'll talk about it later when I get home, but in the meantime, mind your Nana, and your Papa when he gets home."

xxXxx

"Aidan, why are you rubbing your eyes? Are your glasses bothering you?" Rita asked as she set the fruit salad down on the table. It was two months later, and the family was helping set up for the annual neighborhood 4th-of-July block party.

"No, Mommy." The six-year-old ceased his rubbing and squinted up at her, his glasses slightly askew. "The sun hurts my eyes."

"Oh, yes honey, it is bright out today. Why don't you go grab one of your baseball caps?"

The little boy nodded and scampered off, keeping his head ducked and still rubbing at his eyes.

Thirty minutes later, as the festivities were beginning, Rita realized that she had never seen Aidan re-emerge from the house. Her three older boys were all out on the street, playing with their respective groups of friends, but her twins were nowhere to be seen. She excused herself from the conversation she had been having with one of the neighbors and ventured back to the house to search for the boys.

She found them playing in their bedroom. Aidan had evidently found his cap for it was on his head.

She stood, hands on her hips, in the doorway. "August, Aidan, what are you two doing inside all alone? The whole family is outside at the party."

They both startled, and looked up at her. Aidan looked somewhat sheepish, but Auggie looked protective.

"The sun was hurting Aidan, so we came in here," he said matter-of-factly.

"Aidan, that was the point of the cap, didn't you try going back outside?" Rita admonished, somewhat exasperated.

Aidan nodded quickly. "I did, but it still hurt, so we came up here."

Rita sighed and debated the best course of action. She wasn't sure that she wanted to drag them unwillingly to the party, although she had a feeling that Aidan would be distracted from the bright sun fairly quickly by the neighborhood kids. She supposed she could leave them in the house, although it was certainly not ideal. Six years old was a bit young to be unsupervised, but the family would be just outside, and she could send someone to check on them periodically. Or perhaps she should stay with them, and try to persuade them to come back out a little while later?

As she thought, she watched the boys resume playing. She noticed that August immediately threw himself back into their game enthusiastically, but that Aidan seemed somewhat more hesitant. It took her several moments to realize that Aidan was not actually hesitant about playing, but rather kept pausing to bring the pieces close to his face and examine them briefly, positioning them just-so in front of his eyes and then resuming the game.

Surprised by this revelation, she spoke somewhat sharply. "Aidan! Are you having trouble seeing again?"

Aidan looked up again, even more sheepish than before. He nodded, obviously reluctant.

Rita walked over to them and knelt down. "Aidan, it's ok, you need to tell me if you're having so much trouble seeing. I know if it happens very gradually you might not notice, but if you're having trouble seeing your toys the same was Auggie does you need to tell me."

Aidan's lower lip trembled slightly. "I thought it was bad if I squinted?"

Rita smiled. The twins had for some reason latched onto that word. "Honey, it's only bad because it means you are having trouble seeing. That's not your fault, I just need to know. Then we can get you new glasses that will help you see better. Just like two months ago, remember? Then you won't have to squint."

"But, Mommy," this time it was Auggie who piped up, "A still squinted after he got his new glasses."

"I know he is now, honey, but he could see better right after," Rita tried to explain, but Auggie was insistent.

"No, Mommy, he still squinted right after. A said it just made things look weird and small."

"Ok." Rita decided to stay calm after this declaration. She wouldn't worry until they had seen the eye doctor. "Well that is something that I need to know, and that the doctor needs to know. Do you understand? There is nothing wrong with not being able to see well, or squinting, or any of that. The only thing that is wrong, the only thing that makes me upset, is that you did not tell me. Understand?" The twins nodded. "You have to tell me so that the adults can work on how to help you. If we don't have all of the information, then we can't help you."

They nodded again, and Rita smiled at them. "Now, can I join you? What game are you playing?"

This sufficiently excited and distracted her two youngest boys. Mommy didn't get to play with them that often, so it was always an exciting treat.

xxXxx

Unfortunately, the discoveries of the 4th of July did not lead to immediate answers. It took multiple referrals, and several months, before Rita was able to drive home from a doctor's office in Chicago with a definitive diagnosis for her son.

Aidan had juvenile retinoschisis, a relatively rare eye disease that caused splitting and tiny cysts to form between the layers of the retina. It was genetic, so each of her other sons had needed to be tested, but somehow all but Aidan had beaten the odds and showed no sign of the disease (although they would require regular eye exams into their 20's in case it manifested later, though the specialists believed that unlikely).

The specialist had told her that the disease was progressive, but that its exact course could vary quite a bit from person to person, and was difficult to predict with certainty. The primary commonalities were that vision would worsen into a patient's late teens or early 20's before stabilizing, and likely not worsen again until the patient's 50's or 60's. Some people with retinoschisis retained enough vision to be able to drive, some eventually became legally blind, most eventually required large print or magnifiers to read. It was uncommon to go completely blind, although it could happen in rare cases. Unfortunately, glasses would not help with this kind of loss of visual acuity, and with the rapid progression Aidan had experienced so far, his prognosis was not good. He would likely eventually experience a fairly severe vision loss, although the specialist reiterated that it was impossible to say with certainty.

Aidan already had what the doctors considered 'low vision,' and he had what was essentially a blind spot in the lower right visual field of his right eye. Apparently, peripheral vision losses such as this were less common, but not impossible, in retinoschisis. And although corrective lenses would not help Aidan, the doctors had suggested a set of non-prescription glasses with transition lenses to help with the photophobia he was experiencing.

By the time Rita arrived at home and her boys had piled out of the car, her mind had ceased reeling from the shock of all of the new information being thrown at her and had begun to process what she had learned. Her son was going blind, that was the simplest way to put it. But as she followed her rowdy boys into the house and watched the twins race up the stairs to compare Christmas lists with their older brothers, she realized that they would get through it. No, she _decided_ that they would get through it. Aidan would need some help, certainly, and some careful watching and parenting, but he was still just a seven-year old boy. He didn't even truly comprehend that something was different about him yet, and fortunately the other kids in his and August's first-grade class didn't seem to have figured that out yet either.

She sighed as she headed to the living room. Now she just had to face the questions of her oh-so-proper parents.

**A/N: So what did you think? Reviews please!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Computer

**disclaimer: USA Network owns Covert Affairs and it's characters. Not me.**

**I'm not totally sure I'm happy with this chapter just yet, but I decided to go ahead and post it. I may update it later.**

**The Computer**

**xxXxx (Christmas, 1990) xxXxx**

"Here, August," Grandpa patted a large box sitting on the floor by the tree. "This one's for the family, but I want you to open it. I know you'd appreciate it," he added with a quick wink.

Auggie scrambled forward eagerly while Grandpa handed another, smaller package to Aidan.

"This is for the two of you boys," he explained with a smile, then turned back to watch Auggie tear at the wrapping on the big present.

"What is it, Auggie?" the second-oldest boy, Asher, enthusiastically asked.

"It's a… Ash, it's a DOS! It's a computer! Grandpa got us a computer!" Auggie exclaimed, shredding the last of the wrapping as he excitedly revealed the rest of the box.

His mother spoke from where she was sitting on the couch. "That's great, Dad, but what's he going to use a computer for? He's eleven years old."

Grandpa flapped a hand at her. "It's for the whole family to use, and he'll figure it out. He's a smart kid." Grandpa grinned at Auggie.

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Auggie stood up and rushed over to hug his Grandpa where he sat in his armchair. Grandpa tousled his brown hair, then Auggie looked over his shoulder and added, "Thanks, Grandma!" His Grandma just smiled and nodded.

By this point, Aidan had finished unwrapping a set of three hardcover books. He looked up at his grandparents and gave a tentative smile. "Thanks, Grandpa, thanks, Grandma."

Grandpa looked over at him. "That's Jules Verne, son. I read him when I was about your age. Brilliant man."

Auggie extricated himself from his grandfather and came over to look at the books. With the computer freed up, Asher dragged Aaron to look it over, and the thirteen-year-old Alan tagged along.

Rita got up to glance over the shoulder of her gleeful youngest son, then rounded on her father. "Dad," she hissed quietly, "you know Aidan can't read standard-sized books anymore, he needs large print."

Her father waved a hand at her nonchalantly. "He'll be fine," he answered in a normal tone. "He has magnifiers, and he's not _blind_."

His daughter looked as though she wanted to say more, but she glanced back at her twins to see Aidan staring at her, so she bit her lip and backed off. "I'll go start lunch," she told her mother. "My shift starts in three hours, so we should have enough time to eat together if we start now."

Her mother frowned at her. "It's Christmas day, dear. It's a day for family, not for working."

Rita sighed, exasperated, as she began to move towards the kitchen. "We've been over this, Mom. It's a hospital, they can't very well shut down for the holidays. And I'm new there, so I don't have the greatest pick of shifts." With that, she left the room.

xxXxx

Later, Auggie was sitting at the new computer, having finally wrested it back from the control of his three older brothers, when Aidan walked in. He flopped onto the couch and sighed.

Auggie tore his eyes away from the screen to look over at his brother and frowned. "What's up?"

Aidan sat up slightly. "Can't you hear them? Mom and Grandpa are at it again."

"Oh." Now that he mentioned it, Auggie could definitely hear them shouting from what sounded like the office. "I was distracted, I guess."

The two sat and listened for a minute, and Auggie fought not to cringe at what he heard.

"_...needs assistive devices to function normally, but he can't read regular print even with the magnifiers anymore, you KNOW that! He doesn't need reminders of what he can't do, or that he's different!"_

"_There's nothing wrong with Aidan! He just has a little vision trouble, he's not blind!"_

"_Of course there's nothing WRONG with him! But he IS legally blind, and his vision is getting worse! You're not helping him learn how to deal with that by denying it! …"_

Auggie glanced over at where Aidan seemed to be sinking further into the couch cushions and decided a distraction was in order.

"Want to see this game, A? Here, it's really cool." He slid his chair to the side as Aidan came over.

Aidan peered at the screen, squinting, then shook his head. "I don't think I can see that."

Heart sinking slightly, Auggie thought quickly and then got up and moved over to the doorway where the light switches were. "Maybe if I turn the lights off?" he asked, then without waiting flicked them down. He walked back over to the computer, but Aidan was shaking his head, his face inches from the screen.

"It's a little better, but I can't make out what's going on," he said dejectedly.

"Will your magnifier help?" Auggie asked, but Aidan shook his head again. "Well," Auggie started, trying to regain his enthusiasm and bring his brother into it, "that's ok, you can still help me. I'll describe it for you as we go."

Aidan nodded, seeming a bit unsure, but Auggie managed to draw him further into the game as they went, and soon the two were completely engrossed.

Some time later, they were roused by a knock on the doorframe. Auggie only glanced over his shoulder, saw that it was Aaron and Asher, and turned back to the game, but Aidan watched as they came into the room.

"We were going to watch some TV," Aaron explained. "There's a special on in a few minutes."

Aidan began to nod but was interrupted when the mostly-darkened room was suddenly flooded with light and he instinctively flung an arm over his eyes. As he let his eyes slowly adjust, he heard Asher ask, "Why was it so dark in here?" Aidan didn't see the looks of annoyance that Aaron and Auggie sent the fifteen-year-old's way.

As his vision began to clear and the pain subsided, Aidan asked, "Where's Al? I thought he was with you guys."

He missed Asher's eye roll, but heard the mockery in his voice when he answered, "He went for a _run_. On _Christmas_."

"You like running too, Ash," Aaron pointed out.

"I don't like _running_, I like _sports_," Asher corrected as he flopped onto the couch and idly watched Aaron fiddling with the TV controls. "Running is just a necessary evil to be good at sports. But either way, it's _Christmas_. Nobody should be working out just to stay in shape on _Christmas_."

Aaron just shook his head at his brother, then moved back to sit on the couch. Auggie finally finished with the game and the twins settled into the corner closest to the TV. They were quietly watching commercials when Asher spoke up again.

"That was some fight Mom and Grandpa had. Do you think Mom's thinking about moving out?"

"Moving out?" Auggie exclaimed, "Why would she leave us?"

"Asher…" Aaron began in a warning tone, but Asher spoke over him.

"Doofus, she'd bring us with her. I meant move _all_ of us out."

Auggie looked puzzled. "Away from Grandpa and Grandma?"

"Where would we go?" Aidan asked.

"We won't move out," Aaron tried to soothe his youngest brothers, but Asher interrupted again.

"We didn't always live here with Grandma and Grandpa. You guys probably hardly remember, but before Dad died we lived closer to Chicago."

"I remember," Aidan protested.

"Yeah, we were five, we weren't that little," Auggie added.

"You weren't even in kindergarten yet when Dad died," Asher argued, then muttered, "You didn't even get it. Mom had to explain to you that Dad wasn't coming back. You didn't even seem that sad."

"Asher!" This time, Aaron's tone was sharper, and he bore his gray eyes into Asher's until Asher looked away. Then he turned to the twins. "We won't move out, at least not any time soon at all. Mom doesn't have the money to do it. She only just finished her degree and started working. She doesn't make enough yet and she doesn't have the savings. Don't worry about it."

"She still has Dad's insurance money," Asher mumbled.

Aaron stared at him for a moment before answering. "She used that to support us before we moved here, so we didn't have to move in the middle of the school year, and she used the rest to finish her nursing degree. There's not enough left. And why do you even want to leave, anyway? You love it here."

Asher shrugged. "I was just wondering. They've been fighting a lot."

Auggie opened his mouth to say something, but just then the commercials ended and the special started, and all conversation was forgotten.

xxXxx (October, 1991) xxXxx

"Open this one next, Aidan!"

Aidan took the package from his twin. "Who's it from?" he asked.

"Me and Mom. Open it, open it!" Auggie insisted impatiently.

Aidan grinned and tore into the gift, pulling out a box from the wrapping. He squinted at it for a second before fumbling in his pocket and pulling out a bubble magnifier. He placed the glass on the box and moved it around until the top half of a giant letter 'J' appeared in it.

"J… Ja… Jaws?" He read out, then looked questioningly at his mother.

"It's a screen reader!" Auggie burst in. "For the computer, so you can use it by yourself!" He didn't notice his grandfather crossing his arms over his chest and shooting a glare at his mother.

"Really?" A huge grin slowly spread across Aidan's face. "Thanks, Auggie! Thanks, Mom! This is amazing!"

Rita smiled. "You're welcome, Aidan. Happy birthday, sweetie. And to you, too, August. I can hardly believe my babies are twelve!"

"We're not your _babies_ anymore, Mom!" Auggie protested, but he soon was distracted by the cake his grandmother was bringing out.

They all joined in to sing the song happily, but Rita was not oblivious to the looks her father was sending her way throughout.

xxXxx

"_...getting a thing like that for him, and spending all of that money! It will just keep him from learning how to use the computer properly!"_

"_It will HELP him learn how to use the computer! He has no problem understanding it, he can't SEE it! And it wasn't YOUR money spent!"_

"_He's just lazy! He has a hard time reading because he won't work hard, just like his father!"_

"_Do NOT bring Tony into this! Aidan is not lazy, he's possibly the most diligent of all the boys, except maybe Alan. He can't SEE, Dad! And I'm starting to think that it's high time he started getting more help. The doctors are talking about him needing to learn Braille and the cane. He's not going to want to learn that if YOU, the only father figure he has in his life, keep insisting that he can see just fine!"_

"_He's not BLIND! I don't want him learning that under my roof!"_

Aidan sat alone in the living room, listening to his mother and grandfather fighting next door in the office. He looked up when one of his brothers entered.

"What are you doing in here all alone?" Alan asked.

Aidan shrugged. "Listening."

"They know you're here?"

Aidan shrugged again.

Alan nodded, his dark eyes far too perceptive for his age, but he let it go. "We were gonna play Monopoly up in the room. Auggie's already in, we were just looking for you."

Aidan stood up. "Sure, I'll play." Then he hesitated. "Can we play in the attic, though?" The twins' room was one of two rooms on the third floor of the house, but the other room was just for storage.

Alan looked at him carefully. "Because of the sound," he jerked his head towards the office, "or because of the mess? We did clean it yesterday, you know."

Aidan blushed lightly. "Both." He scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. He wasn't going to bring up that the lighting was also better in the twins' room since there was no way he would be able to read the cards or money anyway. It didn't really matter much for Monopoly, as long as he wasn't banker, since there wasn't any hiding your hand.

Alan shrugged. "It's fine with me if we play in your room. Or we could go to the fort, but there's not much light up there." The room that Aaron, Asher, and Alan all shared on the second floor of the Queen Anne style house had what the boys liked to refer to as a 'tower,' a circular part of the room that protruded from the front corner of the house and the roof of which came to a sharp point. It also had a pseudo second floor situated where the roof of the tower began and accessible only by a drop-down ladder through a trapdoor, and the boys referred to this area as the 'fort.'

"The fort is fine," Aidan said, then followed his brother upstairs.

xxXxx

The friction between Rita and her father continued to escalate around the house. Previously, most of the arguments had happened where the boys would not hear, with only a few slip-ups. But as the holidays rolled around once again, the tension became palpable. The boys' grandmother managed to remain neutral, although her disapproval at Rita's work schedule was never a secret.

It was in the spring of that year, just two months before Aaron graduated from high school, that the boys' grandfather died. Donald MacCallen had a sudden heart attack one night after dinner and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. A traditional Catholic funeral was held several days later.

While her mother grieved for several weeks as any widow would, for a few months Rita turned into something resembling an automaton. She continued with her work schedule, and with driving the boys to their various activities, but everyone could tell her heart was not in it. The tension that had been between her and her father for the last year or so of his life weighed on her heavily.

Nevertheless, once school was out for the summer, Aidan began learning Braille and techniques that would help him as his vision continued to deteriorate. An instructor came to the house three times a week for his Braille lessons, and once a week an orientation and mobility instructor came to teach him how to use a sighted guide, how to use a cane (a guide cane, for now, although she mentioned that he may eventually need to use a long cane), and other useful tips and tricks. Although it was not part of the typical training program, she was quite impressed when he showed her their computer with the JAWS software.

For Auggie, it felt at times as though too much was changing at once. His grandfather had died, his oldest brother had graduated and was heading off to the University of Chicago in the fall, and it was becoming more and more real that his twin brother was slowly losing his sight.

**xxXxx**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far! Please keep reviewing, let me know what you think! Suggestions are welcome!**


	3. Chapter 3: Returning to Glencoe

Disclaimer: I do not own Covert Affairs or any of its characters.

This chapter occurs a little while after The Unexpected Visitor.

xxXxx

Returning to Glencoe

xXx

In the end, it was availability and convenience rather than location that determined where Auggie went for his rehab, which was how he ended up at the Hines VA while he learned the skills he would need as a blind man. He called his other three brothers just before being flown out, and was surprisingly grateful when Aaron and Asher visited once a week during his lengthy stay. And in the end, he supposed he should not have been surprised that he ended up returning to his childhood home to live with Aaron and his family once he was finished with inpatient rehab, especially considering he had no place to return to in DC and all of his belongings had been shipped to Glencoe for storage anyway.

Which was how he found himself waking in the pitch darkness, disoriented, to a half-remembered voice calling his name.

"Auggie-!"

He sat bolt upright and tried to leap out of bed, but only succeeded in tangling himself further in the sheets and rolling until he hung halfway over the side.

"Whoa, Augs!"

He instinctively lashed out when he felt a hand on his shoulder and felt his fist connect with something solid, but then the familiar voice finally registered.

"Aaron?" he whispered, his breath coming in gasps.

"Yeah Augs, it's me." Aaron helped him shift so that he was sitting upright in bed. "Just breathe," he said softly, rubbing circles into his back.

Auggie obeyed, trying to even out his breathing and calm his pounding heart. After a minute he asked, "Did I wake you again?"

"It's okay, Auggie."

"What time is it?"

"Just after 3am."

Auggie sighed. "Go back to bed, Aaron, I'll be fine."

"Auggie, you're not-"

"I'm fine, Aaron," Auggie repeated firmly, then laid back down and rolled over so his back was to his oldest brother.

After a pause, he heard Aaron stand up and leave the room, closing the door behind him. Auggie sighed and sat back up, rubbing at his eyes. Then he got up, went over to his desk, and booted up his computer, knowing that sleep was out of the question for the rest of the night.

xxXxx

When Auggie came down the stairs the next morning at 7:30, the shadow of an emerging beard around his jaw echoed by the purple skin under his eyes, Aaron exchanged concerned glances with his wife, Karen.

"Is there coffee already made?" he asked as he entered the kitchen.

The question broke the two out of their silent conversation.

"Yeah, just made some," Aaron answered. "I was just pouring myself a cup, I'll bring you one."

Auggie nodded and seated himself at the breakfast table situated in the corner of the kitchen. Lily, his four-year-old niece, was happily slurping her cereal in the seat next to him, while across from him Karen attempted to coax the two-year-old Anna into eating a few more bites.

"Here, Augs." Aaron touched the mug to the back of Auggie's hand when he held it out. "Lily are you about done with your breakfast?"

"Yes, Daddy!" came the happy chirp.

"All right, well then get a move on and brush your teeth. I gotta get to work and you don't want to be late for pre-school!"

"Oh no!"

Karen chuckled as Lily made a beeline for the stairs, leaving her bowl and spoon behind.

While Aaron and Lily hustled around getting ready before leaving and Karen cleaned Anna up and set her up with some toys in the den, Auggie remained seated, sipping slowly at his coffee. Once everything had settled and her husband and older daughter had left, Karen came back into the kitchen and paused by the table.

"Did you want anything else, some breakfast?" she asked somewhat timidly.

Auggie shook his head. "I'm fine with just coffee. And I can get it myself."

"I know you can, I just thought I'd offer."

"Thanks."

There was silence except for the sounds of Auggie swallowing.

"Do you have any plans today?" Karen finally asked.

"Just O&amp;M at one."

"Ok." Another pause. "Well let me know if you need anything."

Auggie nodded and Karen moved to the sink to begin the breakfast dishes.

xxXxx

"Hey Ash, it's Aaron."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Well…" Aaron sighed and shifted his office phone to the other ear. "It's about Auggie."

"Has he been doing any better? I'm sorry I haven't gotten down to visit you guys as often as I'd like, things have just been-"

"It's okay Asher, I understand," Aaron interrupted. "You just moved and started your first civilian job, as an orthopedic surgeon no less. I expect you to be busy." He paused. "But no, Auggie's not doing any better. If anything, he's doing worse. He wakes up the whole house with his nightmares, and he's got bags bigger than Santa's under his eyes. He walks around like a zombie, but he's always incredibly tense. Startles easily, too."

"What happens when he startles?" Asher's voice was quiet on the line.

"He never hurts anyone," Aaron was quick to reassure his next-younger brother. "Well, he's hit me a couple times when I've woken him from a nightmare, but nothing serious. But mostly he just freezes, and his eyes kind of… dart around."

"Okay. How are Karen and the girls doing with all this?"

"Honestly? They're kind of freaked out. Karen is worried and trying not to go mother bear on him, but you know how she is. I think since she met all of you so soon after Mom died, her mothering instincts tend to come out. And the girls are sort of… scared of him. I mean, they love him when he plays with them, and he can be so great with them. But they hardly knew him before he moved in, they know something's not right, and they know it's him that wakes them up at night sometimes. Karen has to go calm them down while I wake Auggie up." Aaron sighed. "I honestly don't know what to do, but I don't think he can stay with us, not if it keeps being like this."

"Yeah." Asher paused. "His instructors don't think he's ready to live on his own?"

Aaron sighed. "Technically, he has the skills. That's what the graduation was all about. But I'm afraid to push him into it too soon. And I'm not sure whether his checks from the government have kicked in yet, or how much those are for. I've been afraid to ask. So I'm not even sure he could afford a place for himself at this point."

"Is he still seeing the therapist?"

"No, I don't think he particularly liked him. He stopped once he moved in."

"Okay, well let's see if we can get him to find another one. Has Aidan been there, or talked to him much?"

"He visited him at Walter Reed, remember? But he hasn't been here yet, no. He's planning on coming soon though, I'd have to check the exact date." Aaron thought for a second. "A few days, maybe? Karen would know the day. Him and Auggie talk on the phone about once a week, I think. They've always been close."

"Goes with the territory of being twins, I guess."

"Are you thinking get Aidan to convince him…?"

"I'm thinking Aidan could convince him to find a therapist. Of anybody, he could. Do you want to call him? And I'll call Alan. He's seen more combat than me. While I was kept way back from the lines in the hospitals, he's actually been at the front. Maybe hasn't seen the same stuff as Auggie, but…"

"But he could give us a better idea of where his head might be at, empathize a bit more. Okay. Thanks, man."

"Of course. We'll take care of him, Aaron. We take care of each other." Asher's voice sounded determined on the phone.

Aaron gave a small smile. "I know, Ash."

xxXxx

"Auggie! Where are you bro?" Aidan's voice echoed through the entryway of their childhood home.

Auggie got up from where he had been sitting in the living room, a broad grin on his face as he made his way out of the room.

"A!" he called out, walking towards the front door where his brother's voice had come from, then pausing as he neared him, unsure of how to approach. For over ten years, Auggie had compensated for his brother's blindness by being the one to initiate physical contact in a room, by leading him as a sighted guide when he wanted it, by telling him where food was on his plate. He had begun to accept needing such help himself, but until this moment it had not sunk in that he could not offer such assistance to his brother anymore. He knew that Aidan was by no means helpless, and he had their other brothers and other people in his life who could just as easily perform such tasks, but that dynamic of their relationship had been second-nature, effortless, for a long time. And now he stood before his brother, unsure of how to find him to embrace him.

Then Auggie felt Aidan's hand brush his arm and they were suddenly hugging, in a rather un-manly way. Seconds later they parted again, and Auggie did his best to wipe his eyes discreetly. He could hear Aaron fiddling with Aidan's luggage, so he hoped he was preoccupied enough not to notice.

"Let's take a walk, Augs," Aidan suggested.

Auggie sighed deeply, feeling as though a piece of him had been returned, though he had not realized it was missing. "Okay."

"Just be back by 5, all right guys? Ash is coming for dinner, and Karen is cooking up a feast," Aaron reminded them.

Auggie laughed, feeling a bit like his emotions were on a seesaw. "Karen always cooks up a feast."

Aidan touched Auggie's shoulder. "That gives us an hour. We'll be back by then, don't worry."

Five minutes later, they were walking down the sidewalk, canes tapping before them in rhythm. They were the same height, and their strides nearly matched. Although they were fraternal twins, they had always looked enough alike that only close friends and family could easily tell them apart, at least until Aidan had started regularly using a cane to navigate when they were freshmen in high school. Now, Auggie wondered how they looked to the neighbors that had watched them grow up, walking down the street with identical canes swinging before them.

They walked in silence for a while, before Auggie finally sighed. His head was beginning to pound, as it always seemed to these days, and now that the excitement of seeing his brother had somewhat worn off, the lack of sleep was leaving him ill-tempered and impatient.

"Will you say what you're thinking, Aidan?"

There was a pause before Aidan said, "There's a bench near here, a few paces up on the left. Want to sit?"

Once they had settled on the bench, Aidan asked, "How are you, Auggie?"

Auggie snorted. "You brought us all the way out here just to ask how I am?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I'm fine, Aidan."

"I don't know if I believe that, Auggie."

Auggie started bouncing the grip of his cane against his shoulder lightly. He sighed. "A, what do you want me to say? I'm not one hundred percent, but I'll get there. I'm figuring things out. I've had years of watching how you do things, so that helps."

"Aaron is worried about you."

"Aaron always worries."

"Yeah, well, to be honest, he's got the rest of us worried too. And I'm not really sure it's the going-blind part that's worrying us."

Auggie's hands stilled and his body tensed defensively. "What do you mean?"

"You've been having nightmares?"

"What is Aaron so worried about anyway?" Auggie exploded, his hands squeezing his cane so hard his knuckles were white.

"Auggie." Aidan touched Auggie's shoulder, but Auggie twisted away. "Auggie, he said you have nightmares nearly every night. That you wake up the whole house screaming, and that you've hit him a couple times when he's woken you up. He said you're not eating, or at least not enough, and that you look dead tired all the time. That you startle, that you're tense. Whether it's the trauma of suddenly going blind or the trauma of the war, or both, it's-"

Auggie abruptly stood up and extended his cane, going back down the sidewalk the way they had come.

"Auggie!"

Auggie could hear Aidan hurrying behind him, could hear the rhythm of his cane, and increased his pace. He was so focused on the sounds behind him that when he came to a break in the sidewalk he stopped, disoriented.

"Auggie?" Aidan had stopped a few paces behind him.

Auggie gritted his teeth. "I'm here, Aidan." He heard Aidan come up beside him and then felt him find his elbow.

Aidan was quiet for a moment. Then, "Do you even realize how much anger you have bottled up inside you, Auggie?"

Auggie didn't answer, and finally Aidan asked, "Will you at least consider seeing a therapist? I know you didn't like the one in rehab, but there are plenty of others out there you could see."

Auggie sighed. "Yeah, fine."

"Yeah, you'll considering seeing one, or yeah, you'll see one?"

"I'll see one, okay?"

"Okay," Aidan said, and Auggie could tell he was smiling.

Auggie rolled his eyes, though he knew his brother wouldn't be able to see it. Aidan had some residual vision - which was more than Auggie could say of himself - but it wasn't much. "Are you gonna clue me in on where we are, or what?"

"Oh! House is this way." Aidan gave a gentle tug on Auggie's elbow and then they were walking side-by-side again.

"I don't know how you lived here through high school without crawling up the walls," Auggie finally commented.

"What do you mean?"

"It's not exactly accessible. I never really thought about it before, but the suburbs are not exactly blind-friendly."

Aidan laughed. "Every teenager is crawling up the walls in high school, so it wasn't that big of a deal. But there is a reason I've stuck with cities since graduating."

Auggie sighed. "I just feel... overwhelmed sometimes, ya know? There's so much to learn and remember. I mean, I've watched you do it for years, so I feel like I should have some kind of advantage, but I feel like I'm completely retraining my brain."

"You _are_ completely retraining your brain."

"True, I guess."

They walked in silence until they were back at the house, then they moved to sit on one of the padded benches on the wide front porch.

Once settled, Auggie leaned forward and began absentmindedly fiddling with his cane again. "I have to concentrate on everything though, all the time," he said, as though continuing a train of thought. "Navigating, listening, Braille… and my head seems to always be pounding. Getting back to some sort of life, where I'm not just a recluse living at my big brother's house, seems like an impossible task. Especially here, I have no idea of what adults do around here for fun, or of how if I ever could find a job I would get there. And how am I supposed to get to a therapist's office? It's like every little thing has just become… insurmountably difficult. I know I can do it, it just seems impossible though."

"Augs… I get it, okay? But you have to tell someone these things. It can be figured out. I mean, do your doctors know your head is still hurting constantly? Because they have these things called painkillers."

"It's just part of the post-concussion syndrome. I'm only about four months post-injury."

"Okay, well even if it is expected or normal, they can still give you painkillers. Knowing you, you probably aren't even taking Tylenol. That will probably help more than you think. And as for the other things… some of it is time. You have to be patient with yourself. I lost my sight over years, and I still found it overwhelming at times. Nobody is expecting you to start interviewing for jobs tomorrow." Aidan hesitated before adding, "Are you even sure you need to look for a job? I mean, when you're ready, will your employer-?"

"I don't know," Auggie stated with such finality that Aidan dropped that line of questioning.

"But, you know that, regardless of any job situation, you could probably move back to DC? Have you talked to Alan recently? He was transferred to Virginia a couple months ago - I think he's living off-base in Arlington. It'd be a more familiar area, more accessible."

"I'm sure Alan wouldn't-"

"Auggie," Aidan interrupted, and Auggie went quiet. "You know Alan would be happy to have you. Call him."

"But Aaron-"

"Will understand. Or if not, he'll get over it. Call Alan."

"Okay. Fine."

Just then, they heard a car pulling up in the driveway, then steps coming up onto the porch.

Auggie heard Aidan stand and call out, "Is that Asher?" There was a smile in his voice.

"Aidan! The long-lost brother! You don't come home enough - I haven't seen you in forever!" Auggie heard the sounds of them clapping each other's backs as they embraced.

"Oh, and like all you military types make it home so often," Aidan retorted.

"Hey, we have to wait for leave, we have an excuse. But no more! I am officially a civilian, working at the hospital downtown."

Auggie gave a wan smile and stood as well. "Yeah, looks like Alan's the only Anderson left in the military now."

There was a pause, then Asher came over and embraced Auggie as well, although a bit more gently than he had Aidan.

"It's good to see you again, Auggie," Asher said with feeling. "I'm sorry I haven't been around as much since you got out of rehab, I-"

"It's okay, Ash, I understand. You just started your new job. I know doctors work weird hours. We're cool. But hey, I want to hear all about it. You meet any hot lady doctors yet?"

Asher chuckled and they all began to move inside while he told them about his first few weeks on the job.

xxXxx

It was the first time more than three of the Anderson brothers had been together in five years, since Auggie and Aidan had graduated from college, and Auggie felt a sense of nostalgia as they sat at their old dining room table. Only the addition of Karen, Lily, and Anna, and the absence of Alan, broke the feeling of being transported back in time ten years. That and the fact that instead of Auggie telling Aidan what was on his plate by the clock face method, Aaron performed the service for both of them. Still, it was nice. And once dinner had been finished, the dishes stacked in the dishwasher, and Karen had brought the girls upstairs, the four brothers retired to the living room, spreading across the two couches and sipping beers.

The comfortable silence was broken by Asher remarking, "It's weird to think of this house having been in the family for three generations."

"Four," Aaron corrected him.

"Huh?"

"Four. It's been in the family for four generations. Our great-grandparents bought it, and Grandpa inherited it from them."

"I never knew that," Asher protested.

"Well, you were never that close to Grandpa." Aaron shrugged.

Asher frowned. "Well, that was his fault."

"What do you mean?" Auggie piped up. "You were always on his case, it seemed, rebelling against him."

"He never supported Mom's decisions, or autonomy, and he hated Dad."

"He didn't hate Dad," Auggie protested.

"What do you know? You were too little."

"Asher." Aaron's voice held a warning tone.

"Besides," Asher continued, "he couldn't get on board with what was going on with Aidan. He was-" Asher paused, and Auggie thought he was reconsidering what he had been about to say. "He wasn't very supportive."

"Grandpa just didn't get it. He was trying," Auggie insisted. "Wasn't he, A?"

The room was quiet for several seconds before Aidan eventually answered. "I'm not sure, Auggie. I always thought he kind of resented me, but I'm sure he had his reasons. A lot of people have a hard time understanding the gradations of visual impairment, especially when it happens over a long period of time. And for a man like Grandpa, I imagine having a disabled grandson was hard. I've made my peace with that."

"What-? You don't think…?" Auggie tried and failed to gather his thoughts.

"I'm sure he would still be proud of you, Auggie." Aaron's voice was gentle.

"You guys don't know what you're talking about. He was just-" Auggie stood suddenly, feeling agitated. He clenched his hands into fists, then spun towards the door and walked out, touching a hand to the door frame as he passed to orient himself.

Aidan sighed. "I'll go speak to him."

"No," Aaron stood. "I will. I think he's been struggling with this for a while, and he might actually need a slightly more outside perspective than yours."

Aidan reluctantly nodded, and Aaron followed his youngest brother up the stairs.

"Auggie?" Aaron gently knocked on the closed door. When there was no answer, he pushed it open to find Auggie sitting silently on the bed, elbows on knees and head in hands. He walked forward and sat beside him, placing a gentle hand on his brother's shoulders. Auggie flinched minutely at the touch but did not pull away.

"Auggie." Aaron sighed. "Grandpa grew up in a different time. Disabilities were treated differently - there was less adaptive tech, less focus on inclusion. Wrapping his mind around Aidan going blind was difficult for a proud man like him. And so he pretended Aidan was fine, and when that didn't work, he ignored the problem. But I don't think he did that because he somehow viewed Aidan differently or loved him differently. I think that for a man like Grandpa, not being able to help, not being able to _fix_ him, was just too much for him. Especially after all that his daughter and grandchildren had been through."

"Aidan never needed fixing," Auggie mumbled.

"I know that, I'm just trying to explain how I think Grandpa thought. Well, thought is probably the wrong word - I think it was all subconscious, I don't think he ever knew this about himself. It's taken me several years as an adult with some distance from the whole situation to come to these conclusions.

"But you need to know… Grandpa would have been so proud of you for serving your country. Of Alan and Asher, too. But you being injured… he would have been so proud, in many ways. Sad, certainly, but proud that you gave so much for this country. And if Grandpa could see you adapting, and see Aidan's life and job and all that he has done, I don't think he would have felt the need to fix it anymore. I think he would have just felt proud. I think he would have gotten there if he hadn't died when he did."

"But he did."

"Yeah, he did." Aaron smiled gently. "But if he hadn't, he would have been so honored to have you as a grandson. He loved you, and he loved Aidan too."

"You really think so?" Auggie whispered.

"I really do."


	4. Chapter 4: After the Funeral

USA owns Covert Affairs and all the characters, etc. Not me.

Warning: This chapter is short but sad.

After the Funeral

xXx March, 1998 xXx

The house was quiet as the five brothers entered, shaking droplets off their jackets as they hung them on the hooks. A damp mist had clung desperately to all of the attendees through the service and burial, although the rain the sky seemed to threaten had never fallen. Wordlessly, all five of the young men trooped into the living room and collapsed onto the long couch. Although they all faced the TV, none moved to pick up the remote.

Eventually, Asher broke the silence. "I can't believe she's gone," he croaked.

Aaron lightly brushed his hand across Asher's back, his eyes still staring at something unseen, and Auggie shifted in his seat, but Aidan remained listlessly slumped with his head bowed, and Alan remained as stiff and still as stone.

When they heard the sound of the front door opening again, only Aaron moved, getting up and walking slowly into the entryway. A tall man was shrugging off his coat and hanging it on a hook beside the boys'. His handsome face looked drawn, and his eyes were red-rimmed.

"John," Aaron said tonelessly when he recognized his mother's boyfriend.

John looked up, then walked over to Aaron and wordlessly embraced him. When they parted, he kept one hand on the young man's shoulder.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, his tone genuine.

Aaron shrugged in reply, looking lost and unsure.

"Listen, I know there are only a few months until the twins graduate, but if you need _anything_, please let me know. I think you probably suspected it, but your mother and I were only waiting for Aidan and Auggie to be out of the house before officially announcing our engagement." He met Aaron's eyes. "I see you boys as practically my stepsons. I wanted you to be my stepsons. I know Asher never really warmed up to me-"

"-Ash just doesn't really know you," Aaron mumbled.

"-And I know you can take care of them just fine," John continued, the only sign he had heard Aaron's comment a tiny smile. "But you're only 24, and you're youngest brothers are only 18. All adults in the eyes of the law, and you make enough to support them, especially since Asher is supporting himself now and Alan is ROTC. But you've only been out of college yourself for two years, and I know losing your grandmother last fall was a blow to all of you. So, seriously, if you need anything. Advice, money, a paid vacation, a new job, help around the house, someone to co-sign your brothers' educational loans- _anything_. Please ask."

Aaron nodded. "Thanks, John," he whispered.

John gave him a tight smile. "I heard the church ladies left your freezer full of meals. Now I know none of you probably feel hungry, I know I don't, but you have to eat. What say you to some homemade mac 'n' cheese?"

"Sounds good. I'll tell them you're staying for dinner." Aaron turned and headed back to the living room, his shoulders just slightly straighter.

xxXxx

"Why is he here?" Asher hissed at Aaron as they were putting the dinner dishes into the half-full dishwasher.

Aaron sighed deeply. "He loves-" he winced, "loved Mom. Give it a rest."

"They weren't married," Asher grumbled.

"They were together for two years."

"But he shouldn't... He's here like he's a... Like he's our..."

"Like what?" Aaron snapped, turning to face Asher. "Like he's her husband? Like he's our stepfather?"

"He's not our father," Asher whispered.

Aaron's voice grew softer. "He's not trying to replace Dad. But Dad has been gone a long time. And John loved Mom- differently from us, but just as deeply. And he wants to be there for us. And frankly, Asher, we could use the help."

"We'll be fine," Asher scoffed. "We can take care of ourselves."

"Ash," Aaron resumed rinsing dishes. "If the twins were much younger, they probably would've put them in foster care."

"What- why?"

"Ash, I'm 24. You're 23. We've just begun our careers, just moved out of the house. We're not- _I'm_ not ready for this kind of responsibility. I'm taking it on because I have to and because I want to keep this family together, but I will take any help I can get."


	5. Chapter 5: Christmas 1994

USA Network owns Covert Affairs and the associated characters, etc. Not me.

This chapter focuses a little more on Aaron and Asher.

xXx Christmas 1994 xXx

Aaron and Asher quietly snuck in the back door.

"Do you think anyone's home?" Asher whispered.

Aaron shrugged and whispered back, "Grandma's car is still here, but they could have all fit in Mom's if they wanted."

Asher grinned. "I can't wait to see the looks on their faces. Back three days early! Mom will be thrilled. She was just complaining about how short the Christmas break was this year."

"Yeah, good thing I don't procrastinate as bad as you on my final papers."

"Hey!" Asher shoved his brother lightly as he moved their bags into the dining room. "All right, nobody's likely to go in there until we're eating tonight and the surprise is over. Quick, let's start making dinner!"

Aaron laughed. "Mom will want to do a DNA test to check it's really us if we have dinner ready when they get home."

"All the more reason for it! Let's get to it!"

Aaron laughed again, but they set to work in the kitchen, pulling out pasta and marinara sauce, which was about the extent of their culinary skills.

A few minutes later, Aidan walked into the kitchen. Aaron and Asher both looked up from their work, excited for their younger brother's reaction at seeing them for the first time since the summer. To their surprise, Aidan only gave them a glance before going straight to the fridge.

With his head hidden by the door, Aidan asked, "How was shopping?"

"Shopping?" Aaron asked, confused.

"Where are the greetings for your long-lost brothers, home at last?" Asher complained dramatically, disappointed at the lack of response.

Aidan pulled his head back out of the fridge and spun around, letting the door slam shut behind him. "Aaron? Asher?" He walked towards them, grinning, and they were quick to meet him, Asher pulling him into a hug first, followed closely by Aaron.

"That's more like the greeting I was expecting." Asher lightly shoved Aidan's shoulder.

"Sorry," Aidan grinned sheepishly. "I thought you guys were Mom and Alan. They went out for some holiday shopping a couple of hours ago."

Aaron and Asher's eyes briefly met, both clearly thinking the same thing. Asher quickly covered over the awkward moment, "I know I look like Mom, but I didn't think I did _that_ much."

Just then, the water on the stove began to boil over.

"Crap!" Aaron exclaimed and raced over to turn the burner down.

Aidan laughed. "You guys are seriously trying to cook dinner? Should I be taking cover for the apocalypse?"

"Har har," Asher said from where he had returned to stirring the sauce at the stove.

"When did they say they'd be home?" Aaron asked, glancing at the clock.

"By five, which I think is in a few minutes," Aidan answered.

"Yeah, it's actually now."

"Crap." Asher turned back towards Aidan. "Could you set the table? We wanted to have everything ready when Mom got home"

"Yeah, sure." Aidan began pulling down plates from the cabinet and stacking them carefully on the counter.

"Only six? Who's missing tonight?" Asher asked.

"Oh, Grandma is out with some of her DAR friends. They picked her up about an hour ago."

He brought the plates into the dining room and set them out, but when he was rounding the other side of the table, hands fortunately empty, his toe caught on something and he went crashing to the floor, his head clipping the edge of the open doorframe.

"Aidan!" Aaron called out, turning down the burner and quickly running over to his brother with Asher close behind. "Are you okay?" he asked as he knelt down by where his brother was starting to pick himself up, his face beet red.

"I'm fine," Aidan said, moving to a kneeling position and gingerly pressing on the left side of his forehead.

At that moment, they heard the front door open and their mom calling out, "Was that Aaron's car I saw in the driveway? Are my boys home?"

"We're in here Mom!" Asher called out, ignoring Aidan's shushing noises. "What?" he asked, perplexed.

Aidan began to explain, "I didn't want her to-"

"Aidan!" Rita's voice was shrill. "What happened?"

"It's nothing, Mom, I just tripped," Aidan tried to reassure his mother.

"Tripped over what?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," Asher began. "I think- Aidan, I think you tripped over our bags. I left them there earlier. I- I didn't think-"

"It's fine, Ash, really," Aidan assured him, standing up. He moved his hand off his forehead and in front of his face, and Asher noticed his eyes danced around somewhat as though trying to focus. "Is it bleeding?"

Rita came up and put her hands gently on either side of Aidan's head, tilting it down enough that she had a clear view of her tall son's forehead. "A little, but not much," she concluded. "Come, let's get you cleaned up, then we'll sit down to dinner. Aaron, would you call Auggie down and find Alan? He went to put the shopping away."

Aaron nodded and moved off to gather his missing brothers while Aidan and Rita headed to the sink to wash up and Asher began bringing the food into the dining room. Although the younger three brothers were quick to joke at Aaron and Asher's expense about the food they had put together, Aidan's incident went unmentioned as they all sat at the table to eat.

It was as they were heading to bed that night, Aaron and Asher back in their old room with Alan, that the subject was finally broached.

"How much worse are his eyes?" Asher, always the blunt one, asked Alan.

Alan, characteristically thoughtful, waited to answer until he had finished changing into his pajamas and climbed into his bed. Then he sighed. "It's hard to say for sure since it happens so gradually, but I'm sure that his vision has gotten worse since you were last home."

Asher rolled his eyes. "Well we'd figured that much out."

"Ash," Aaron admonished, and Asher quieted.

"It's seemed to change pretty rapidly the past few months," Alan continued. "His left eye I know is pretty bad, I don't think he really sees much of anything out of it. You know the surgery after his second retinal detachment wasn't successful, right?"

"Yeah," Aaron said, "Mom told us, but I didn't know…"

"Yeah, he doesn't talk about it much," Alan explained. "I know he has blind spots in the center of his right eye, too, and I think they're growing. Sometimes he'll kind of move his eyes around, sort of, and I think it's to try to see out of his periphery."

"I noticed him doing that," Asher whispered.

"And he uses the cane now," Alan added.

"Well, he was doing that this summer, wasn't he?" Asher asked.

"Yeah, but not all the time. Now he uses it basically anywhere but inside the house. He has since his first day at the high school - he didn't say much about it, but I don't think it went very well."

Abruptly, Asher slammed his hand against the bedpost.

"Ash! Jeez, you're gonna wake up the whole house!" Aaron exclaimed.

"I'm just-" Asher flopped onto his bed. "Why doesn't he ever tell us these things? I didn't know, I wouldn't have left those bags there. I thought they were big enough he'd be able to see them."

"It's okay, Ash."

"I think it's just a little weird for him," Alan chimed in, speaking quietly. "I mean, we've all known for a while that he's going blind. That he _is_ blind. How do you tell your family that you're _more_ blind when they've only just gotten used to things being as they are? He's probably not even really used to it himself."

There was silence for a moment, then Asher began laughing. "Alan, you're a regular Dr. Phil. I swear you know us all better than we know ourselves."

The other two briefly chuckled as well, then they settled in and eventually drifted off to sleep.


End file.
